It's Only a Movie

For a swan song, this is pretty a good one. Generally, at this point in a band's career, when personnel changes become more frequent, live shows become more unpredictable, and substance use seems to become more central to the band than singing and songwriting, you would think that Family (a band that partied as hard as any) would simply cough up a final piece of dreck and say so long. But Movie is a relaxed, funny and funky record, almost sunny in disposition. The songs take a while to worm their way in, but once they do, tracks like "No Money Down" and "Boom Bang," with their swagger and sway, end up sounding as good as any of the band's previous work. Totally ignored upon release, Movie was one of those records that seemed to go directly into the cutout bins (I paid $1 for my copy more than 20 years ago), a fitting end to Family's career in America. — John Dougan.